


Downpour

by kaeorin



Series: Loki's Lullabies [111]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Depression, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Protective Loki (Marvel), Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25274236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin
Summary: One rainy afternoon, you seek out Loki for the comfort that he can offer you, and he is happy to oblige.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki's Lullabies [111]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240
Comments: 13
Kudos: 175





	Downpour

It was raining. The light that came in through the windows had been grey and watery all morning. You didn’t really mind all that much. It wasn’t like you were particularly interested in going outside. Loki, the poor angelic man, had been trying to drag you out for walks a little more often, and you could only assume that it was because he could tell how low your mood was sinking. And he was right to do it. Holding his hand and strolling through the city while the sun beamed down on you, it did a lot to cheer you up even on the worst days. But there would be no walk today, and, secretly, you were kind of guiltily relived. The rain meant that you both could stay inside. If you were lucky, maybe you could convince Loki to be lazy on the couch with you, and just hold each other all afternoon.

You caught him in the kitchen after lunch. He was there at the sink, washing the dishes despite the fact that it was _your_ turn to take care of them. You crept up behind him and slid your arms around his waist, hiding your face against his back. He didn’t flinch, but neither did he stop rinsing the plate he was holding. You thought about giving him a hard time for the dishes, but then decided against it. That was a fight you’d never win. Instead, you rubbed your cheek against his shoulder blade and breathed in the scent of him.

“My lonely love.” As it so often was, his voice was practically dripping with affection for you. You could hear the way his lips curled into a soft smile, and your face burned even though you knew he could not see what he did to you. He turned off the faucet and dried his hands on a nearby dish towel before closing his fingers lightly around your wrist. Sometimes when he touched you, it was like you could feel his love. Right now, his fingers were warm (likely from the dish water) as they caressed your skin. 

“I don’t feel good.” The words were true enough, but you hadn’t really meant to speak them aloud. You didn’t want to worry him, and you certainly didn’t want to keep whining at him. It wasn’t a physical ailment that troubled you, but a mental one. Everything was just weird and wrong, and even Loki’s presence could not make your mind settle. There wasn’t much that he could do. You knew that _you_ had to be the one to fix yourself right now, but...you weren’t sure how to do it. Poor Loki. He was trapped here with you.

You held tight to his waist, but he still managed to turn around in your arms, and then he cupped your face in his palms. He tilted your chin up so he could look at you even though you wanted to look away. His brow was heavy, furrowed as he studied you. After a moment, he smoothed one hand over your forehead, seemingly giving you permission to close your eyes. Your brain was telling you to explain yourself, or at least to assure him that he had nothing to worry about, but his touch was telling you to be still. Maybe he saw what he was looking for in your face, because he ducked down a little to kiss your forehead.

“What can I do?”

His easy selflessness made you want to hide. It made you regret saying anything in the first place. This was his constant response any time you came to him with a problem. It made you feel bad. It made you feel like you took and you took and you took and you so rarely did anything to repay him for the way he treated you. You shrugged one shoulder and would have looked away, if he didn’t maintain a steady hold of your face. He hummed insistently at you and leaned in to kiss your lips. By now you knew that he wouldn’t take “Nothing” for an answer, so you cast about for something to say instead.

“Come sit with me?” Maybe it was as good a request as any. He deserved so much more than what you could give him here. He was active. He liked to move. There wasn’t space enough for that here in your apartment, and you had so few other things to distract him. He had never once made you feel ashamed of that, though. When you sat together in the evenings, he made you feel like you were the only thing on Earth that mattered to him. Most of the time, that was enough to make your brain shut up for a while, and you could do with some of that right now. “Could you just hold me for a while?”

He didn’t answer you out loud. He just took your hand and made his way towards the living room. That was for the best. You weren’t really in the right frame of mind to be able to deal with all his lovely poetic talk of doom befalling anyone who dared try and stop him. He pulled you over to the sofa and made as if to lift you into his ars, but you cringed away from him.

As he so often did, he seemed to understand your mind without asking a single question. He inclined his head at you ever-so-slightly—an apology—and settled himself among the cushions first. A sudden gust of wind pelted your windows with rain, and, acting largely on instinct, you pulled your old afghan off of the back of the couch to wrap it around your shoulders before joining Loki. It wasn’t really cold or anything, but you sort of wanted to hide yourself away, and a blanket was a great way to do that. When you pulled it up over your head, you felt a little bit sheltered. There was less that you had to worry about. 

When you sat down, you leaned into him right away, and you couldn’t hold back the quiet sigh that escaped your lips. Maybe it was dangerous to find so much peace in his arms. Maybe you were relying too heavily on him for things that you should have been able to do for yourself. But he felt so nice. He pulled you in a little closer and kissed your temple, then let his lips linger there.

“That sound you make,” he said in a quiet voice. “That sigh. It always makes me feel as though I can offer you some respite from the weight that rests on your shoulders.”

He’d never mentioned that before. You turned his words over in your mind. He thought of you—and the things that you did—with more than mere affection. Or resentment. Not for the first time, you felt your cheeks flush with shame. When you got into a state like this, it was so easy to forget how others really felt about you. You tucked yourself even closer to him and wrapped one arm around his waist. “You can. You do. You make me feel safer than I ever have before.”

He did not laugh at that, for which you were thankful. In the beginning of things, any time you told him how you felt about him, he would dismiss it with a grim laugh and a quip about your mortality, or your status as a human unlike any other. Today, he let out a long, slow breath: not quite a sigh, but something deeper. “You are...so precious to me, do you realize that?”

The words warmed you. You tilted your head backwards a little and then stretched upwards so you could kiss the underside of his jawline. He hummed low in his throat and lifted his chin to expose more of his throat to you. You rewarded him by nuzzling the tender flesh there until you could press another kiss to the spot just behind his ear. 

The two of you stayed there like that, exchanging kisses and soft words of love as the skies continued to fall outside.


End file.
